NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer and veteran commentator Laxman Sivaramakrishnan has made a series of explosive allegations about his years in cricket broadcasting, claiming he was compelled to resume commentary duties immediately after the cremation of his elder brother.
In a series of posts on social media platform X on Thursday, the former leg-spinner recounted a deeply personal incident that he said reflected the harsh treatment he faced during his broadcasting career. Sivaramakrishnan revealed that shortly after completing his elder brother’s cremation ceremony, he received a call from the then Director of Broadcasting at the Board of Control for Cricket in India, asking him to travel the next morning for commentary duties during the India vs Australia Test match in Mohali.
“My elder brother passed away a few years earlier. We finished cremation in the evening, minutes after that, the Director Broadcasting of BCCI called me and said, ‘now that the cremation is over, can you take a flight the next morning to commentate on India vs Australia Test in Mohali?’. I went,” Sivaramakrishnan wrote.
The 60-year-old said he chose professional responsibility over personal mourning despite the emotional burden. He further disclosed that his mother passed away while he was working on commentary assignments in Pune.
“I sacrificed the mourning and went. My mother passed away when I was doing commentary in Pune. Having done all that, I was subject to whatever I went through,” he stated.
Sivaramakrishnan recently stepped away from the Board of Control for Cricket in India commentary panel, citing allegations of colour discrimination. In another social media post, he indicated that the same individual involved in the cremation incident was among the primary reasons behind his decision to retire from commentary earlier this year, though he did not publicly identify the person.
Earlier this year, in an emotional interview with The Indian Express, Sivaramakrishnan spoke about suffering a severe mental breakdown during the Indian Premier League in the United Arab Emirates during the Covid-19 pandemic period. He described experiencing sleepless nights, hallucinations, emotional isolation, and overwhelming fear.
“I was down completely and I didn’t want to see myself in the mirror. Whenever I was awake, I thought I was going to die,” he had said.
The former spinner also alleged that he endured years of racism and appearance-based discrimination within cricket broadcasting circles. According to Sivaramakrishnan, he was repeatedly denied prominent on-air responsibilities because he was allegedly considered “not presentable.”
“I’ve never done a toss or a presentation,” he had earlier stated, adding that producers allegedly informed him they had been instructed not to assign him those positions.
Reflecting on his early cricketing years, Sivaramakrishnan said several painful experiences severely damaged his confidence and self-esteem at a young age. His revelations have once again drawn attention to mental health struggles, workplace discrimination, and the pressures faced by former athletes within professional sports broadcasting.
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